Work

Professional development, lifestyle behaviors, and job satisfaction: the mediating role of work-life balance in a multi-sector sample

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Modern organizations face increasing pressure to enhance employee satisfaction and productivity. Although prior research has examined individual antecedents of job satisfaction, less is known about whether professional-development, behavioral, and lifestyle-related resources are associated with job satisfaction through work-life balance. Objective: This study examines the associations of social media engagement (SME; hereafter used to denote social media engagement), employee training (ET), healthy dietary habits (HDH), online learning participation (OLP), and physical activity (PA) with job satisfaction (JS), with work-life balance (WLB) evaluated as a model-based indirect pathway. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was administered to 437 working professionals across multiple industries. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapped indirect-effect analysis were used to assess the measurement model, structural relationships, and indirect associations. Results: < 0.001). The SRMR value indicated adequate approximate model fit (SRMR = 0.053), whereas the NFI value (0.893) was slightly below the ideal 0.90 threshold and was therefore interpreted cautiously. Bootstrapped indirect-effect analysis supported WLB as a statistically significant indirect pathway linking the antecedent variables with JS. Conclusion: The findings suggest that professional-development, behavioral, and lifestyle-related resources are associated with job satisfaction through employees' perceived work-life balance. Because the study is cross-sectional, the results should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than evidence of causal effects.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1923493

Author: Zhijia Yang

Institution: Henan University

Language: English

Topic: Employee Performance and Management

Subfield: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801